


Truespire

by Pteriforever



Category: Dragon Riders - Fandom
Genre: Cool weapons in general, Gen, Keyblades, Sourcecasting, Very Very Inaccurate To Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2018-01-05 13:32:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1094438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pteriforever/pseuds/Pteriforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team Dragon Rise and its mysterious evil counterpart, Team Dragon Fall, are warped to an alternate version of Surfacia, called Encounter Surfacia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Truespire

 

 

 

_Connected to chatroom "_ _☼≡_ _d.r.a.g.o.n_ _≡≈≈≡_ _f.a.l.l_ _≡☼_ _"._

_Logged in as ElementalHero_HopeSummon_ _[EH_HS]_ _._

 

_Room Status: 2/7 Online_

_[EH_ED] Status ONLINE_

_[EH_GH] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_HS] Status ONLINE_

_[EH_IH] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_PM] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_SM] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_SP]Status OFFLINE_

 

[EH_ED]: Okay, FINALLY somebody's here. I was worried for a moment that I transitioned incorrectly... I take it we got scattered?

[EH_ED]: ANYWAY, welcome to Encounter.

[EH_HS]: I'm here~ Was a little worried myself, just woke up in this weird underground field... Luckily, I still have all my stuff, and yeah, it seems we did :/

[EH_ED]: Yeah, I'm in a weird underground field TOO... This place is REALLY different. It's pretty though, I think I'll like it here.

[EH_HS]: I agree :) It's good that Encounter is so nice... I mean, we won't be coming back :3

 

_User ElementalHero_GaiaHito[EH_GH] has logged in._

 

[EH_GH]: guys, i think i just transitioned

[EH_GH]: where is everyone

[EH_ED]: I THINK we got scattered.

[EH_GH]: whoa

[EH_ED]: Didn't IH and PM warn you that it WAS a possibility?

[EH_GH]: oh yeah, right

[EH_HS]: Wwwait... Where are IH and PM~? Wouldn't it make sense for them to transition first? :/

[EH_ED]: Maybe they held back so they could make sure everything was going smoothly.

[EH_ED]: I hope they get here SOON, though. THEY'RE the ones who know what's going on, afterall.

 

_User ElementalHero_SerpentinePaper[EH_SP] has logged in._

 

[EH_GH]: hi there

[EH_SP]:Heyyyy!

[EH_HS]: Welcome, SP ^-^ Nice to see you made it here in one piece :)

[EH_SP]:Thanks, nice to be here! (: I can't believe this, we're really going to make it!

[EH_ED]: Well, we don't KNOW we will yet.

[EH_SP]:Don't be pessimistic, dude! Of course nothing's for sure, but successfully transitioning into Encounter is a huuuuge step!

[EH_ED]: That's true.

[EH_HS]: So... Where did you guys end up? :3

[EH_GH]: can't tell, it's too dark

[EH_SP]: Mee? I think I'm in some kind of giant cave system! There's glowy stuff on the ceiling wayyyy above me, and there's this cool underground grass everywhere!

[EH_ED]: That SOUNDS pretty much the same as HS and I.

[EH_HS]: Yep... maybe we're close together! :)

[EH_GH]: where i am there's no glowy stuff or grass... it's cold, stony, and pitch black >_<

[EH_GH]: so i guess i'm probably underground too

[EH_ED]: Hmm.

[EH_GH]: ...what do we do now

[EH_ED]: I'd say just wait until the others appear. HOPEFULLY they'll be here soon. They understand the whole encounter thing WAY better than us.

[EH_HS]: Not much else we can do :(

[EH_SP]: I wanna go exploring!

[EH_ED]: Wait a second, something's coming!

[EH_GH]: ???

[EH_HS]: What's happened? D:

[EH_ED]: I'm probably thescariest thing in this plsce, BUT I'm 100% CERTAIN I heard footsteps o_o

[EH_GH]: oh god

[EH_ED]: bye

[EH_HS]: :/

 

_User ElementalHero_EarthData[EH_ED] has disconnected._

 

[EH_SP]: Footsteps! So maybe we're not alone here?

[EH_HS]: I'm fairly sure there are supposed to be people in Encounter... Still, it's creepy, and you wouldn't expect them to be underground... :|

[EH_GH]: ikr

[EH_SP]: Maybe someone followed us here!

[EH_GH]: i hope not :/

[EH_HS]: That's... very possible D:

[EH_HS]: I'm going to find somewhere safer 3:

[EH_GH]: good idea, i'll do that too i guess

[EH_HS]: Cya~

 

_Disconnected from chatroom "_ __☼≡_ _ __d.r.a.g.o.n_ _ __≡≈≈≡_ _ __f.a.l.l_ _ __≡☼_ _ _"._

 

...

 

Somewhere, a brown-haired girl was laying face-down on a stony floor.

 

"Gggghhhhhh...", she groaned weakly, and faded out of sleep. Her entire body ached with discomfort. Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the bright but oddly calming blue light which flooded the room she had found herself in.

 

She sat up with effort, and stared with stunned interest at her surroundings.

 

The floor was made of smooth, white stone, which nicely reflected the room's blue light, emanating from what seemed to be some kind of crystal. About nine or ten of them were stuck to the ceiling in no particular pattern. 

 

The walls consisted of an unfamiliar transparent material, which had a similar appearance to ice, but obviously wasn't. This also reflected the light, causing a very disorienting effect for the girl.

 

This room bordered other, similar ones on two sides, and some kind of hallway along a third, but the outside world could be seen through the remaining wall. It was dark outside, but other buildings with similar appearance were easily visible, although some were not lit.

 

There seemed to be no doors in this place; she had no idea how anyone could get out or in.

 

"What is this place...?", she said in confusion to nobody in particular, and desperately tried to recall how she had come to this place. No thoughts came up.

 

"Oh good... you're awake!", a familiar voice said from somewhere behind her.

 

She turned herself around in mild alarm. "Y-you guys...?", she said, bemused. In an untidy group at the other end of the room sat Dianke, Julio, Erin, and Charlotte, all looking at her with concerned expressions.

 

She felt extremely relieved at their presence, and relaxed somewhat. "Where... are we?", she breathed after a moment.

 

"That's what we've been trying to figure out!", Charlotte responded.

 

"All I know is... we were found, one by one, somewhere out there, and got dragged to this place, some sort of town I guess, where someone named Ron decided we're going to stay here. You got brought here only about ten or twenty minutes ago.", Erin added.

 

"Well, we /do/ know what this place is called...", began Charlotte again. "it's Dolouk Hey Yarau or-", she continued before being interrupted by a loud grinding noise.

 

The wall leading to the hallway was opening up. A short boy dressed in very dark black clothes was pushing on the transparent sheet which made up the wall, and sliding it out of the way.

"Actually, it's... umm... dolPc hB yirP...", he said quietly, before stepping through the opening. However, he seemed wary of the other five people in the room, and didn't move any closer.

 

"It means 'valley of the dead end' in Erga'al...", he continued timidly. "One more thing... I'm Ron Aliac, do you have a name?", he went on to ask.

 

"Yes...", the girl responded. "I am Taylor Smith."

 

"Oh okay then.", Ron said awkwardly.

 

Taylor got to her feet and turned to face Ron properly. "Will we... be able to go back home soon? We're just really confused."

 

Ron shrugged. "Depends where 'home' is I guess."

 

"We're from Surfacia.", Dianke said quietly from across the room.

 

At this, Ron broke into a smile. "Well, you're already there!".

 

"This doesn't... look like anywhere in Surfacia that I know of...", Taylor then said in bemusement.

 

"Really? Most of it's like this... Or at least, all the nice parts are.", Ron responded cheerfully.

 

"I've never seen anywhere like this!", she objected.

 

Ron stepped backwards, out of the room, and suddenly lowered his voice. "Wait, so... you people... actually lived on Overworld?".

 

Taylor blinked. "Is that what you're calling it now?"

 

"It's a place far above here, where there are no ceilings. Very hostile place... I'll be going there in four days.", he explained, then sighed loudly.

 

"In that case, yes, we do! Can we get back up there?"

 

"Well, there's one way... but seriously, why would you want to return to such a place?", Ron asked, bewildered.

 

"It's where we belong!", Taylor insisted. "Now tell us how to get there."

 

"Okay... In the center of town, there's a tunnel leading downwards to a place called 'iliL uw iz' -- that means 'the one sanctuary' -- where there's a portal, which will take you to Overworld. Everybody must go to Overworld for one month starting on their seventeenth birthday, which is why I'm going there...".

 

He shuddered, before continuing.

 

"It's kind of an initiation trial here in Underworld. There's another problem though...".

 

All five people stared at Ron in concern.

 

"Which is...?", Charlotte prompted after about five seconds.

 

"It's illegal to use that particular portal for almost any other reason.", Ron stated.

 

Taylor sighed grumpily. "I guess we'll have to break into this ilill aw is place or whatever... because there's no way we're staying in this weird Underworld any longer than we need to. It's amazing that such a place exists, but... I want out!"

 

"Oh no, if you do that you'll get banished!", Ron said in alarm.

 

"Banished to where...?", she asked in return.

 

"Meh. Not sure. It varies... maybe you'll get warped to the fields outside town... or maybe you'll get warped to the Sixth Antarctic Plane. You can't know...".


	2. Chapter 2

Connected to chatroom "☼≡d.r.a.g.o.n≡≈≈≡f.a.l.l≡☼".  
Logged in as ElementalHero_HopeSummon[EH_HS].

Room Status: 5/7 Online  
[EH_ED] Status OFFLINE  
[EH_GH] Status ONLINE  
[EH_HS] Status ONLINE  
[EH_IH] Status ONLINE  
[EH_PM] Status ONLINE  
[EH_SM] Status ONLINE  
[EH_SP] Status OFFLINE

[EH_PM]: It might be tricky getting in though because it seems to be pretty heavily guarded.  
[EH_GH]: i really need some water right now :/  
[EH_GH]: i thought there was some with my stuff, but i can't find it  
[EH_PM]: Thats not good. Ill give you some when we meet up in that case.  
[EH_HS]: What are you trying to get into?  
[EH_PM]: We found a way out. All we need to do is break into a room which Ive marked on all your maps.  
[EH_PM]: Once we get to the surface itll be game over for anyone trying to stop us.  
[EH_IH]: No, not game over. More like game on.  
[EH_HS]: How's that~?  
[EH_IH]: I have a feeling that things will be even more complicated than we thought they'd be... I can't be sure though.  
[EH_SM]: Guys, I can't find my gas mask D:  
[EH_PM]: Dont worry about it because lost stuff can be replaced easily.  
[EH_SM]: Yeah, I guess you're right~  
[EH_GH]: wouldn't it be possible to just bruteforce our way in  
[EH_GH]: i mean, IH has magic resistance, you have your cool guns  
[EH_PM]: I think itd work. I like the idea of just blasting our way through and we should save our mental effort for things that need it.  
[EH_IH]: Sure... you can do that. I don't want anybody dying on me though.  
[EH_PM]: That's not very likely so dont worry. Have you seen these people? They seem to have very few weapons and they only have defensive magics.  
[EH_IH]: Alright then. I've marked a second set of coordinates, this will be our meeting point. Head there now.  
[EH_GH]: got it

User ElementalHero_PoisonMetal[EH_PM] has disconnected.

[EH_HS]: Umm... this is bad! Like, really bad D: There's this girl and she's following me... ;~;  
[EH_HS]: Seriously, she's getting closer fast!!  
[EH_GH]: that's creepy!  
[EH_HS]: The worst part is, I... recognise her!!! :/  
[EH_GH]: D:  
[EH_IH]: I was right.

Disconnected from chatroom "☼≡d.r.a.g.o.n≡≈≈≡f.a.l.l≡☼".

...

Yui was stumbling around directionlessly in the creepy almost-darkness. Somewhere in front of her, a tiny white light appeared.

"Is anyone there?", she shouted halfheartedly, taking a few steps towards the point of light.

There was no response.

"I know you're there!", she followed up with, and broke into a run, stumbling on the rough ground a few times, until the light revealed itself to be coming from the screen of a strange device held by a purple-haired girl with glinting green eyes.

"I-it's you! I remember you!".

The girl, in a panic, typed something into the glowy device, before roughly turning it off, eliminating the light, and glared at Yui before taking several steps backwards.

"I remember you too! Get away from me!", the purple-haired girl shrieked angrily

"Who ARE you?", Yui persisted, and continued to move closer, confused by this girl's behaviour.

"Th-that's not important! Leave me alone!!", she said, before turning around and beginning to run away through the subterranean fields.

"Wait, no, don't leave!", Yui shouted in reponse, and began to chase after her, in search of answers.

"Don't you dare take one step closer!!", screamed the girl, who then pulled out a deck of cards. "PHOENIX FLOWER!!!", she added, in an impossibly loud, piercing voice which eerily echoed off the ceiling.

Yui stared in alarm as a stream of burning particles started flying from the purple-haired girl. They moved with the soft grace one would expect of flower petals at first, but quickly accelerated towards her.  
She leaped out of the path of most of the burning petals. A few still managed to hit her, but were deflected by her clothes. She grabbed her bag, reached into it, and pulled out a shiny cross-shaped boomerang with sharp edges.

"Haha...~", the purple-haired girl said. "You going to fight me with that thing?"

"Yes!!", shouted Yui in reply. Without thinking, she threw it into the air at an angle, causing it to twist around in the air, until it was flying directly at the mysterious girl.

"FETCH~", the girl said with satisfaction, flicking a card away with her other hand. The boomerang suddenly changed path, as if it had bounced off of something invisible, and it landed with a thud a few metres in front of Yui.

"You're a...!?", she began, but the purple-haired girl interrupted.

"Yes, I'm a Sourcecaster, now just go away and never bother me again! ICE NEEDLE!"

A number of pointed, acicular ice crystals formed around the girl, then suddenly launched into the air with crazy speed, moving in a perfectly straight line towards Yui.

She threw herself aside, but was not fast enough; she felt a stabbing pain as one ice needle struck her left arm, and two more hit her stomach only milliseconds later.

"AGH...!!!", she shouted, getting back to her feet. "That hurt!".

The mysterious Sourcecaster girl didn't respond. She was already running away, much faster and more desperately than before.

"Ugh...", Yui groaned, getting to her feet. It only took a few seconds for the fragile ice needles to melt and fall away. Blood immediately began to leak out onto her clothes.

She turned to roughly the direction the girl had run too, and decided that since she seemed to be in a hurry, she must be going somewhere. That meant that there was something noteworthy in this bizarre dark landscape.

She then cautiously stepped forward, and began making her way forward in the same direction.

Indeed, there was a faint blue light somewhere in the distance. It was dim, but appeared to be quite large. Maybe, she thought, she could find someone there and ask a few questions about this place. Perhaps she might even find her friends.

...

"I guess I'll leave you alone now...", Ron said, then turned away and began to shift the moving wall back to its original position. "I think they fond somebody else out there -- I'm going to go check."

With that, he walked away down the hallway. Rather urgent, unrecognisable voices began bubbling up from somewhere outside.

It was several minutes before anyone spoke.

"I think it's worth the risk!", Erin said eventually.

"We're going to get separated if they catch us...", Dianke objected. "Also... What if the rest of the team's still down here? They'd get left behind..."

Julio frowned.

"Well, I for one like the idea of getting out fast.", Taylor began. "We could ask Ron to tell anyone else who shows up where we went, and then we could come back for them, better equipped and prepared for a search."

"Well, when you put it that way...", Dianke replied.

"I guess I'm fine with that...", Charlotte agreed shortly afterwards.

"Let's go now, then!", Erin said enthusiastically, standing up as well and taking two steps towards the room's equivalent to a door.  
"Wait, didn't Ron say they might've found someone else? Shouldn't we wait to see who it is?", Charlotte said.

"I guess we'll find out when we get out there, anyway.", Taylor responded.

Erin was already sliding the wall aside in the manner Ron had done.

"Gh... I definitely wouldn't want to live somewhere with such strange doors!"

"I agree!", Taylor said.

"Now let's get out of here!". Erin immediately dashed off down the hallway.

Taylor turned to the other three, who stood up as well. "You ready?"

"Yes.", replied Charlotte, who began to move to follow Erin.

The others soon did the same.

Taylor broke into a run and left the room. "Erin!? Where are you?", she shouted, although not too loudly, as she ran.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were similar in appearance to the room she had just left, but it was less brightly lit. She didn't bother to look at it too closely.

She turned a corner, and found Erin talking in a hushed voice to Ron and a third person, who was slumped against a wall with his head turned away from her.

"We have no choice. Please, tell everyone else you find where we've gone, but don't try to stop us.", Erin said.

"Alright...", Ron sighed. "I suppose I can do that. Will you be bringing him with you?". He gestured towards the dazed-looking person.

The rest of the group had quickly caught up, and had now gathered next to Taylor.

"Of course."

"Okay then."

At this point, Erin turned to face the other four. "It's Alex. We're going to bring him with us.", she explained.

"By the way... thank you.", Charlotte said to Ron.

Ron nodded in acknoledgement. "I guess you guys are free to leave whenever. Your stuff is in the front room, you'll see it on your way out."

Alex straightened himself out. "Where are we going?", he asked.

Erin briefly explained their plan to him.

"But...", he began to reply, "I don't think it's a good idea to leave the others here, if they are here that is."

"We'll be coming back for them, though!", she said loudly.

"Besides, I feel weak right now... You can leave, but I'd like to stay here, at least for now... to continue the search myself, you know? There must be others out there.", Alex said in response. "Sorry."

Erin sighed. "Fine...", she said.

Taylor listened silently with a mildly confused expression. "I guess... we're still going?", she asked.

"Yep!", Erin responded. "And don't worry, Alex. We'll be back just as soon as we've gotten some more supplies."

"Alright.". Taylor felt reassured at this, and strode down the hallway to some kind of entrance room. This room, unlike the others she had seen, was cluttered with various pieces of furniture. A pile of bags, holding their things, sat untidily in a corner.

Erin and Taylor quickly grabbed theirs up, the other three not far behind.

One after the other, they all left the building.

The air was perfectly still. It was fairly dark out here, but with the lights from the various other buildings which surrounded them, as well as a number of odd, moderately brightly glowing patches somewhere above them, they were able to see.

"So... which way do you think it is?", Charlotte asked, more cheerfully than before.

"Well... If it's in the center of this town, if you could call it one... Maybe this way?", Taylor answered. She turned to the left, where the buildings seemed to be densest.

"Okay then... Hopefully this place isn't too big.".

Their pace slowed to a restless walk as they moved in a line in that direction.

Indeed, there were more and larger buildings over here; many were brightly lit, and people could be seen in some of them. They soon came to a cluster of them, which encircled a square of the same glowing crystals used for lighting in the buildings, embedded in the stony ground.

Taylor cautiously moved up to it. "I think this must be it!", she said, a little more loudly than she had intended to.

Before them was a large, roughly square pit, leading straight down a considerable distance. As they moved closer, it was revealed that a huge, jagged groove had been intentionally smashed away in a deep spiral around the pit, forming something close to a set of stairs leading downwards.

"Yep, you're right!", Erin responded. Observing the path downwards, she added, "And look, getting down won't be an issue either!"

Charlotte shuddered a little and moved forward. "I think we should go down there single-file... That would make it safer perhaps?"  
"Yeah, that could work...". Erin moved right up to the edge and began to clamber down the notch which formed the path. The stone surfaces were all quite solid and rough, which made this process a little easier.

Charlotte went next, then Taylor, Julio, and finally Dianke.  
The path was fairly steep, but didn't twist at all and was not difficult to climb down

"How much further do you think it is?", Charlotte asked after about ten minutes.

Julio awkwardly peered over the precipice and down the pit.

"It can't be that far!", Erin said.

Indeed, the bottom of the pit grew nearer and nearer, and only a few minutes later they had reached the bottom.

Here, it opened up into a huge, open chamber; the walls and floor were made of identical-looking grey stone, but seemed smoothed down. It was also square in shape, about fifty metres on a side, and in most places was about four metres high, although it sloped downwards near the edges. Light crystals dotted the floors and ceiling.

They, however, were pretty much in the center.

As Dianke made the final downwards step, joining the others, Julio placed his bag of things on the ground and withdrew a shiny metal sabre which was jutting out from it, and a soft, smooth cloak made of some strange material which seemed to collect the colour of the rocks of the chamber and take it on. "Something's amiss...", he spoke darkly, and pointed the sabre out in front of himself to nothing in particular.

"He's right!", Erin remarked. Taylor surveyed their surroundings. There was an atmosphere of peace to the place, but an uneasy peace, as if they weren't wanted here. Every movement, every noise, and every word produced a great echo in the empty chamber.

"Shouldn't there be a portal somewhere...?", asked Dianke after a moment.

"Yeah, there should...", Taylor replied, still running her gaze along the walls and ceiling. "But there's nothing here."

"Maybe...", began Charlotte. "Maybe the portal is invisible? It could be some kind of security mechanism, and this seems to be a magical place..."

"Possibly.", replied Erin.

Taylor sat on the ground and rested her hands on the cool rock floor. "I'll check...".

"I will too.", Dianke said, and sat down next to Taylor, mimicking her posture.

Julio stood behind them with Erin and Charlotte, looking on-edge but saying nothing.

Taylor let her thoughts all fade away to nothing, and slowly felt a sense of serenity. There was no noise but their breathing.

Her peace soon turned to panic. She closed her eyes, just for a few seconds, but when she opened them, she was surrounded.

"EEP!", shrieked Dianke, scrambling backwards with an alarmed expression. Taylor instantly spun around and stood up. A group of tall men -- about eleven or twelve in all -- had encircled them. Their faces were cast into shadow by the identical grey hooded robes they wore. Each one held a thick, heavy-looking quarterstaff, and several had them raised as if ready to strike.

"Who a-ARE y-you??", Taylor growled in bemusement. Her right hand wandered to her bag and pulled out a stunningly sharp poisoned dagger, which she then, with hand shaking, waved defensively in front of herself.

Charlotte and Erin both took a step back in shock and confusion.

"We are the keepers of iliL uw iz.", they spoke hauntingly in perfect unison, completely unfazed by Taylor's threatening gestures.

Somewhere behind them, marking each corner and face of the walls, stood eight identical portals.

The others had certainly heard this, and looked around for the source of the sound. Even Julio seemed freaked out. Dianke sat back up and stared unresponsively at the ground.

"Tell us... which portal are you looking for?", the keepers asked, again in unison, their gazes seeming to look into Taylor's soul.

"Wait... there's more than one portal?", Erin asked nobody in particular.

Charlotte momentarily spasmed. "Yes.", she spoke with a sudden certainty, standing up straighter than ever. "There are eight. Ours is that one.". She pointed towards a corner of the room in front of herself, which still appeared to be devoid of anything to Erin and Julio, before collapsing on the floor in a heap.

"Damnit, you used the Eye of Truth again, didn't you!?", Dianke demanded, darting to Charlotte's side.

Charlotte groaned in pain, and said nothing else.

All eleven keepers tensed up, and shifted their staves menacingly, and flickered into vision.

Erin immediately grabbed her twin keyblades, and launched herself forward, shoving two keepers to the ground using them. As she raced towards the portal's location, her feet seemed to barely touch the ground.

Taylor, as soon as she could comprehend what had happened, dived through the brief gap Erin created, following her with heart racing.

The stunned keepers were on their feet in an instant. They broke formation, and, with an anguished gasp, streaked after the two girls, with speed none in the group thought possible.

Taylor let out a cry. A keeper, with a powerful blow from its staff, had swept her legs out from underneath her, and she crashed to the ground.

Only milliseconds later, a second one hurled its great staff at Erin; it struck her in the back and knocked the air out of her, causing her to fall as well, only metres from the portal. "Ugghhh...", she moaned.

"We cannot allow that. You will instead be banished.", the keepers all said as one, in the same steady, ominous manner as before.

The ten keepers who will still holding theirs all raised their staves and pointed them at Taylor and Erin. The other one raised its hands instead, in a threatening claw gesture at them. "SPACE JUSTICE BANISHMENT.", they said, their combined voice becoming louder, booming and commanding with a hint of anger.

A bolt of purple-black energy formed at the tip of each staff pointed at them. All of them quickly converged into a large, pulsating, bloblike mass, which flew at Taylor and Erin.

"NO!!!", Erin shrieked in horror. The dark energy engulfed first Taylor, then her, before dissipating against the stone floor just in front of the portal, with no sign of either girl.

"You.. can't... do that!", Charlotte groaned weakly.

The keepers all turned their attention to Charlotte. "You are to be banished as well."

Julio suddenly lunged at a keeper, furiously lashing out with his sabre. Sliced by the blade, the keeper crumpled to the ground. However, it showed no sign of being injured at all, apart from a tear in its robe.

Three more keepers immediately leaped on Julio and pinned him to the ground. He glared at them with pure rage.

Charlotte was on the verge of passing out, and Dianke was nearly hysterical; within seconds, they too were pinned in place.

A group of keepers grabbed Julio and half-pushed, half-threw him at the other two. He was sprawled on the floor, making mumbling noises.

"SPACE JUSTICE BANISHMENT."

A second clump of purple-black energy coalesced, and cleanly swept up all three of them.

They, too, vanished without a trace.


	3. Chapter 3

_Connected to chatroom "_ _☼≡_ _d.r.a.g.o.n_ _≡≈≈≡_ _f.a.l.l_ _≡☼_ _"._

_Logged in as ElementalHero_HopeSummon_ _[EH_HS]_ _._

 

_Room Status: 2/7 Online_

_[EH_ED] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_GH] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_HS] Status ONLINE_

_[EH_IH] Status OFFLINE_

_[EH_PM]_ _Status_ _OFFLINE_

_[EH_SM] Status ONLINE_

_[EH_SP]Status OFFLINE_

 

[EH_HS]: YES :D Finally, SM :3 Where are you?~ The six of us are already waiting at the meeting point >_<

[V]: Respond to her and I'll kill him.

[EH_SM]: NO YOU WON'T, D*** YOU B****!!

[EH_HS]: ??? :/

[V]: Oh yes I will.

[V]: He's here with me.

[V]: He's under my perfect control.

[V]: You'll never get him back.

[EH_SM]: I'LL F****** MURDER YOU!  
[V]: Not likely.

[EH_HS]: WTF, SM? 3:

[EH_HS]: And what's with these weird gaps in the chatlog...?

[EH_SM]: STOP TORMENTING ME, D*** YOU!!!!!!!

[V]: I don't feel like it.

[EH_HS]: Are you talking to someone???? :/

[V]: Besides, I have a right to.

[V]: I'm special.

[V]: You're not.

[EH_SM]: I'LL CUT YOU INTO A BILLION PIECES D********

[EH_SM]: BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[V]: ...

[EH_SM]: F*** OFF

[V]: Meh.

[EH_HS]: SM, calm down... you're scaring me D:

[EH_SM]: ...

[V]: Ignore HS.

[V]: Or you know what happens.

[EH_SM]: YOU ARE SICK

[EH_SM]: B**** YOU'RE F****** GOING TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO ME

[V]: Your worthless allcaps is beginning to irritate me.

[EH_HS]: D:

[V]: I think you should log off now.

[EH_SM]: NO WAY IN HELL NOW GO DIE!

[V]: You don't want me to hurt him.

[V]: Now log off.

[EH_SM]: GRRRRR

 

_User ElementalHero_StarMythic[EH_SM] has disconnected._

 

[EH_HS]: o_o

[V]: Hey there HS.

[EH_HS]: Who are you? O_O

[V]: It's not important.

[V]: I just had to take care of something.

[V]: Forget I was here please.

[EH_HS]: oWo

 

_User Veladoth[V] has disconnected._

 

[EH_HS]: o_o I am officially freaked out now O_o

 

_Disconnected from chatroom "_ __☼≡_ _ __d.r.a.g.o.n_ _ __≡≈≈≡_ _ __f.a.l.l_ _ __≡☼_ _ _"._

 

...

 

"Aghhh... HELP! SOMEBODY", a voice shrieked from out of the darkness.

  
The voice was distorted, as if it was coming from something that wasn't quite human. However, it was strangely familiar.

Kushagra turned his head. On closer examination, the sound seemed to be coming from a giant rock wall a decent distance in front of him.

 

So this place had edges, or at least walls of some description.

 

He shook his head in confusion. Randomly waking up in this huge, perpetually dusky place hadn't really worried him, just... bewildered him.

 

He immediately strode towards the source of the voice. "Who's there?", he shouted as he drew closer.

 

"My name's Polaris!", came the unusual voice again. "Help me!".

 

He looked around to reorient himself. Along the base of the wall, many untidy piles of boulders slumped against it. "Where are you?"

 

"I'm trapped by rocks, I have no idea how I got here!", Polaris replied.

 

Kushagra turned in a slightly different direction in attempt to pinpoint Polaris' location.

 

"Are there any gaps anywhere you can see out of?", he called out.

 

"...Yeah, there are.", came the reply. "How'll that help? I can't move any of these rocks..."

 

"Maybe you could use some of your magic-element power through it?", Kushagra began slowly. "Then I'll be able to tell where you are."

 

"Um.. sure, I guess I could do that.", Polaris responded.

 

There was a short silence. A bright sparkle of multicoloured energy was briefly visible, causing all the rocks to cast shadows.

 

Kushagra ran to its source.

 

Polaris was trapped by several large, rounded stones, which were partially covered by smaller rubble. Fortunately, he did not appear to actually be being crushed by anything; he was simply caught in the empty space between the boulders with no way out.

 

"I know the magic element is strong against earth...", Polaris began again, "but it's so violent and unpredictable! I don't want to use too much in this small space..."

 

"Good thinking!", responded Kushagra seriously. "I know your magic is easily strong enough to break these, but then you'd just be crushed by the pieces... Good thing you didn't do that."

 

He looked to examine the pile. "This top one, here.". He lightly slapped one rock with his hand. "It's not supporting anything at all... If I could move it without breaking it, you could get out."

 

"Mhm... but how do you plan to do that?", asked Polaris.

 

"Well...", Kushagra began again. "Quintessence is also strong against earth, remember? It's softer and easier to contol."

 

"Okay... Do you think you can manage it though?", Polaris asked, more shakily this time.

 

"I hope I can.", Kushagra replied. Standing on a lower, adjacent stone, he held out his hands, with fingers spaced out, in front of himself, and concentrated hard.

 

A blob of pale silver energy popped into existence. Within moments, it formed itself into a gently rotating pentagon. Its light was dim at first, but steadily began to grow. Kushagra's hands began to shiver slightly.

 

It slowly began to extend into a beam and pressed against the rock, a manifestation of the quintessence element being used.

 

"Nn...", Kushagra said slowly. The rock began to shift uneasily, and he moved a little closer to it, his hands almost touching his surface.

 

A soft flickery white glow was lighting up the area, highlighting every surface of the dark, cold, grey rocks which belonged to the stony wall to the side of him.

 

With a loud grinding noise, the stone moved; just a little at first, before tumbling away from the others and smashing into the ground with a loud, echoing crash.

 

"Th-there...", he breathed, sitting down and peering into the gap he had created.

 

Polaris slowly stood up, then slowly floated upwards until he was next to Kushagra. "Thank you... that was weird and scary.", he said, coming to rest on a rock beside him, before adding "Ugh, where are we, anyway?"

 

"I have no idea and I don't remember anything!", Kushagra responded.

 

There was a shout from somewhere behind them.

 

They both turned.

 

Three people stood in a line, somewhere out there.

 

...

 

Taylor's eyes flew open again. A billow of dry leaves flew past. It was very bright and very windy wherever she was. She quickly regained her breath.

 

She became aware that the ground was not stone or any kind of strange subterranean plant, but resembled ordinary grass more than anything else. Sitting up and glancing around, she saw Erin doing the same in a confused manner next to her.

 

She felt a vague relief; at least this time, they hadn't been scattered.

 

Around the area were a number of magnificently large trees of various species. The area of nature they were in, however, didn't seem to go on for very long; less than a hundred metres in every direction, a black wall was visible.

 

Erin stared upwards. "Wow...", she breathed after a few moments.

 

Taylor quickly did the same out of curiosity, realising with sudden disappointment that there was a ceiling here, although it was even higher than Underworld's, arcing over the topmost branches of the enormous trees.

 

The shadows blurred disorientingly around them. The brilliant light in this place was predominantly coming from a glittery globe of brightness, which was energetically floating about.

 

"I'm not even going to ask where we are...", Taylor sighed, her voice almost swallowed by the rustling of the trees by the intense wind.

 

"I can tell you."

 

Erin and Taylor stood up and spun around, finding themselves facing a short, bald man wearing a red robe much too large for himself while grinning like a maniac.

 

"Welcome to the Hall of Seasons! I hope you find it as wonderfully inspiring as I do! I'm Zarromat, I work here. Feel free to stay as long as you like."

 

A flying leaf struck Erin's face. She instantly batted it away.

 

Taylor, by this point willing to accept pretty much anything, nodded. "I guess it is kind of inspiring...", she conceded, before adding "but we really need to get home."

 

"But you just got here!", responded Zarromat. "Don't you think you could stay for a while, after you've gone to all the trouble of getting here?"

 

"We... got banished here.", Erin cut in, sounding more cheerful than she probably should've.

 

Zarromat took a step back, his eyes opening wide and his grin vanishing. "Ugh, those sanctuary Keepers. So thoughtless and rude.", he muttered, staring at Erin as the enthusiasm disappeared from his dark green eyes. "You're not... troublemakers, are you?", he asked in a hushed voice so that the wind almost drowned him out.

 

Taylor shrugged. "Not really.".

 

"It's just...", Zarromat began with a sigh. "The last person who got banished here is still making a nuisance of himself..."

 

"Who is he?", Erin asked. "Is he dangerous? And where?"

 

"Only a little bit.", Zarromat replied. "He must be asleep. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so quiet in here."

 

"It doesn't seem to be a particualrly sane time for sleeping...", she responded.

 

"That's true, but it's always this bright here. We call this Dellin's Time. It'll be Arcinus' Time in less than an hour, though... that's a much more sensible time to sleep."

 

"Why's that?", Erin asked.

 

Taylor stared at the trees, their branches swaying wildly, before focusing her gaze back to Zarromat, and interrupted just as he was about to respond to Erin. "We really need to find a way home. Where's the way out of here?"

 

"Oh, right.", Zarromat said, turning to Taylor. "I won't keep you here if you don't want to be here! I'll show you."

 

Zarromat spun around, his robe looking very silly, and began walking in the direction of the most distant wall. Taylor immediately began to follow. Erin looked disappointed for a moment, then fell into step beside Taylor.

 

The wall wasn't directly adjacent to the grassy area. Instead, there was a narrow, dark brick path running alongside it. The wall itself was made of the same bricks, and it contained doorway-shaped openings every so often.

 

Reaching the path, Zarromat turned and led the two girls along it in silence. After less than a minute of walking, they came to an opening much larger than the others. It was about four metres wide. Zarromat froze the moment he stepped in front of it.

He sighed a little. "Well this is annoying."

 

"What's wrong?", Taylor and Erin asked at the exact same time.

 

Zarromat didn't immediately reply, and stared down the tunnel in silence. The two circled around him to do the same.

 

A few metres into the tunnel, a shiny metal gate, closed but unlocked, stretched across it.

 

Some distance behind it, a teenage boy stood, glaring at the three. He was dressed in fluffy pale blue clothes, and he held a shortsword which glowed erratically in the same pale blue.

 

He stomped agitatedly up to the gate.

 

"I need something!", the boy announced.

 

"Is this that 'troublemaker' you mentioned?", Erin asked quietly.

 

Zarromat sighed again. "Nope. This is a larmhezan. To be exact, it's a cRsa hB hezan.", he responded just as quietly.

 

Taylor didn't understand anything of this; she guessed that the word that sounded like "hay" probably meant "of", but that offered no clues.

 

The boy in front of them pushed aside the gate. "Don't call me an 'it'!", he said, raising his voice even further. "My brother requires a Book of Immunity.

 

"I can't help you.", Zarromat stated grumpily.

 

"Look, mister-Hall-of-Seasons-wizard, this is important!", the boy pouted. "And don't you dare tell me you don't have the book.", he added, narrowing his eyes at Zarromat, who stared with irritation in response but said nothing.

 

Erin looked at Taylor, who took a step backwards.

 

There was a tense silence.

 

A panicky voice yelled from somewhere behind them. "I told you!! I told you he was coming! You wanted me thrown out, but see!? I was right!"

 

Taylor spun around, feeling overwhelmed.

 

The source of the noise was a second mysterious boy, who dashed down the tunnel and whooshed indignantly up to the shouty larmhezan.

 

Zarromat shook his head. "Ugh...looks like the entire circus is here today...", he mumbled under his breath.

 

This person had red hair and blazing yellow eyes. He had deeper blue clothes which looked a lot more practical than the other boy's, and was also wearing simple but menacing clawed gloves.

 

"I knew you'd be here, Shine-hezan Skymaze, and I'm here to stop you!", he said.

 

"And I knew you'd be here too, Matt Viridian. This has nothing to do with you. Get out of my way!", Shine demanded, and held his glowy sword in front of himself, pointing it threateningly at the other boy's neck.

 

Zarromat looked upwards and called out to someone out of sight. "Arcinus... help!".

 

"Make me!", Matt growled.

 

Shine smirked, and glared even harder than before. A beam of hot yellow energy suddenly shot out from his sparkly sword. Matt yelled in panic, and clumsily dodged. The beam continued on its path with dazzling speed, and glanced Erin's side with a little sizzling sound. She squeaked in pain for a moment, almost losing her balance, before turning to Shine, her confusion turning to rage. She grabbed her two keyblades, and hurled herself towards him. "Die, you!"

 

Taylor watched the scene with wide eyes.

 

Shine moved to defend himself with his sword, and their weapons met. Unprepared for the force, he stumbled backwards into the gate, before grinning and holding his left hand in front of himself in a clawlike gesture.

 

Less than a second later, a mighty pulse of intense yellow light blasted every surface of the brick tunnel and lit the Hall of Seasons even more brightly than it already was.

 

Taylor shielded her face by reflex, but Erin and Matt had no time to do so and were dazed by the light, stumbling in temporary blindness.

 

Shine rushed past first them, then Taylor, ignoring her existence entirely. He glanced around himself, clearly unfamiliar with his surroundings.

 

"GET OUT! YOU'RE DESTROYING THE SANCTITY OF MY HALL! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!", bellowed a voice.

 

A furious man, tall and pale and wearing a white robe even more pale than he was, now stood in front of Shine. His mere presence made the air much colder.

 

"GO AWAY AND DON'T COME BACK!", he boomed, and effortlessly emitted a huge blast of ice energy. Zarromat ducked away from the tunnel, while Taylor, Shine, Matt, and Erin were all caught up in the blast and were carried out far past the silver gate in an inexorable rush.

 

Zarromat stood back up and dusted himself off. "Thank you, Arcinus.", he said, much more calmly than before.

 

The white-robed man named Arcinus ran up to the gate and slammed it shut, grinning victoriously at the four people he had just thrown out.

 

The first to stand up was Shine, who carelessly brushed the ice crystals off of himself and prompty ran down the tunnel, away from the hall.

 

Taylor got to her feet as well, feeling shaken and nervous but otherwise okay.

 

Erin was still laying on the ground. She had dropped her keyblades in the confusion when she had been hid by the ice blast, and they were a short distance behind them, nearer the gate. She was pressing one hand against the place she had been burned by Shine's laser, and was rummaging through her bag, still on her back, with the other.

 

Matt slowly sat up, and nervously stared up at the tunnel's ceiling, which was much lower than that of the Hall of Seasons.

 

Taylor shivered, panting slightly, and irritably removed the ice from her clothes before moving over to Erin.

 

"Are... are you okay?" she asked softly.

 

"I'm fine...", responded Erin. "I think I've got some supplies right here, and it's not that bad anyway."

 

...

 

A girl gazed fearlessly around the apparently empty chamber. She wore a gas mask, but it was more to hide her face than for any practical reason. Without a second thought, she strode across the cool, smooth grey stone wall towards a corner of the square chamber.

 

"Halt.", a voice said in a haunting monotone.

 

The girl turned around. Eleven shadowed figures wearing grey robes flickered into view, revealing themselves to be surrounding her in a half-circle.

 

"That portal is off-limits."

 

The portal, now behind her, flickered into vision as well.

 

She thought it was kind of impressive how they were able to say everything they wanted to say at the precise same moment. Maybe they were all psychic, or perhaps they weren't even human.

 

"Oh, is it now~?", she asked with an invisible smirk.

 

"Step away.", came the voice composed of many.

 

"I don't feel like it.", the girl replied, and took two large steps closer to the portal instead.

 

"This is a crime. You are to be banished.", the hooded figures said, all their eyes fixed on the girl.

 

"SPACE JUSTICE BANISHMENT."

 

Yet another blast of dark purple energy formed, each one of the Keepers contributing some of the space distorting energy.

 

The mass of energy rushed towards her, but the girl stood calmly. It struck her whole body cleanly, then immediately lost its force, broke apart, and dissipated, the girl still standing exactly where she was.

 

"That's cute.", she said coolly, before stepping into the shiny portal.


End file.
